Monty Python: Almost the Truth - Netflix

Legendary British comedy troupe Monty Python all gathered in front of
the camera one last time in this original documentary series that
retells the entire Python phenomenon start to finish.

Type: Documentary

Languages: English

Status: Ended

Runtime: 60 minutes

Premier: 2009-10-18

Monty Python: Almost the Truth - Monty Python's Life of Brian - Netflix

Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979
British religious satire comedy film starring and written by the comedy
group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric
Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It was also directed by Jones. The
film tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Jewish
man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ, and
is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah. Following the withdrawal of
funding by EMI Films just days before production was scheduled to begin,
long-time Monty Python fan and former member of the Beatles, George
Harrison, arranged financing for Life of Brian through the formation of
his company HandMade Films. The film contains themes of religious satire
that were controversial at the time of its release, drawing accusations
of blasphemy, and protests from some religious groups. Thirty-nine local
authorities in the United Kingdom either imposed an outright ban, or
imposed an X (18 years) certificate, effectively preventing the film
from being shown, since the distributors said it could not be shown
unless it was unedited and carried the original AA (14) certificate.
Some countries, including Ireland and Norway, banned its showing, with a
few of these bans lasting decades. The filmmakers used such notoriety to
benefit their marketing campaign, with posters in Sweden reading, “So
funny, it was banned in Norway!” The film was a box office success, the
fourth-highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom in 1979, and highest
grossing of any British film in the United States that year. It has
remained popular, receiving positive reviews. The film was named
“greatest comedy film of all time” by several magazines and television
networks, and it would later receive a 96% “Fresh” rating on Rotten
Tomatoes with the consensus, “One of the more cutting-edge films of the
1970s, this religious farce from the classic comedy troupe is as
poignant as it is funny and satirical.”

Monty Python: Almost the Truth - Pre-production - Netflix

There are various stories about the origins of Life of Brian. Shortly
after the release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Eric Idle
flippantly suggested that the title of the Pythons' forthcoming feature
would be Jesus Christ – Lust for Glory (a play on the UK title for the
1970 American film Patton). This was after he had become frustrated at
repeatedly being asked what it would be called, despite the troupe not
having given the matter of a third film any consideration. However, they
shared a distrust of organised religion, and, after witnessing the
critically acclaimed Holy Grail's enormous financial turnover,
confirming an appetite among the fans for more cinematic endeavours,
they began to seriously consider a film lampooning the New Testament era
in the same way that Holy Grail had lampooned Arthurian legend. All they
needed was an idea for a plot. Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, while
promoting Holy Grail in Amsterdam, had come up with a sketch in which
Jesus' cross is falling apart because of the idiotic carpenters who
built it and he angrily tells them how to do it correctly. However,
after an early brainstorming stage, and despite being non-believers,
they agreed that Jesus was “definitely a good guy” and found nothing to
mock in his actual teachings: “He's not particularly funny, what he's
saying isn't mockable, it's very decent stuff”, said Idle later. After
settling on the name Brian for their new protagonist, one idea
considered was that of “the 13th disciple”. The focus eventually shifted
to a separate individual born at a similar time and location who would
be mistaken for the Messiah, but had no desire to be followed as such.